Keep the Heat on the Taliban
The killing of Osama bin Laden is a watershed event whose significance cannot be overstated. It makes good on George W. Bush’s promise -- wanted: dead or alive -- and confirms that, despite our contentious and sometimes raucous internal political fights, the United States of America is remarkably united and steadfast about one thing, and that is bringing our enemies to justice.
But already, we hear in some quarters that “bin Laden’s death will make it harder to maintain support for remaining in Afghanistan…”
Nonsense. In fact, quite the opposite. Bin Laden’s death makes it much easier, diplomatically, for the United States to take the fight to Taliban sanctuaries in Waziristan.
Bin Laden, after all, was not, as we had all initially thought, consigned to a deep, underground cave. Instead, it seems, bin Laden was living in a plush and well-populated residential area in Abbottabad, Pakistan. And so, the question is: what did the Pakistanis know and when did they know it?
Quite a lot it sounds like. They certainly knew bin Laden was living safely and openly among them -- and by “they” I mean key members of the Pakistani military and political class.
Of course, that Pakistan has been playing a double-sided game is not surprising; but that they have been caught so flagrantly doing so is. This embarrassing and shameful exposure of Pakistani hypocrisy and double dealing should give the Obama administration renewed diplomatic strength to confront Islamabad and to insist upon more resolute action against the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Waziristan.
Indeed, as Bing West rightly observes, “This allows the U.S. military, if the White House seizes the moment, to step up attacks against other terrorists inside Pakistan, especially along the Afghan border…
Taliban morale -- the willingness of low-ranking insurgents to fight -- “will be lowered if the U.S. mounts even a modest propaganda/information-warfare effort,” West writes.
That information warfare effort should commence immediately, and there need be nothing propagandistic about it. Simply put, bin Laden is dead; the Americans killed him; and our Soldiers and Marines aren’t going home anytime soon.
Time, then, to get on the right side of history, or else suffer the same gruesome fate as bin Laden. And that’s true for both the Taliban and their Pakistani-enablers: They have been warned.
John Guardiano blogs at www.ResoluteCon.Com, and you can follow him on Twitter: @JohnRGuardiano.
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